In the last two months of 2022, a sudden cluster of new crown epidemics occurred in Guangdong. Due to the need for epidemic prevention and control, the most anticipated and largest ceramics exhibition in Asia in the second half of the year has been postponed again.
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On November 5, Foshan Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition officially announced that due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, it had to make a final decision: the 2022 Foshan Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition, originally scheduled to open on November 16, was postponed again. This is another postponement of the 2022 Foshan Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition after its postponement on July 20. The reasons for the postponement are all affected by the epidemic. It is worth noting that the notice did not specify the specific time for the exhibition. Many people in the industry believe that according to the current epidemic prevention and control situation, there is a high probability that it will not be held again this year.
It is understood that there are over 600 ceramic sanitary ware manufacturers such as Hongyu, Wells, Guanzhu, Dajiulu, Samit, Nobel, Samit, KIMS Slate, Xinyansu, and Inno Feinze. Upstream and downstream enterprises in the fields of ceramics, slate, decoration and equipment materials plan to participate in the 2022 Foshan Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition. This postponement will definitely disrupt the investment promotion and product promotion plans of these enterprises/brands.
Affected by force majeure factors, this year, the holding of ceramics-related exhibitions has been full of twists and turns. Previously, the 38th Foshan Ceramics Expo (offline), originally scheduled for October 18-21, 2022, has been postponed and adjusted to April 18-21, 2023, which is equivalent to canceling this year’s event. Foshan Autumn Ceramics Expo will be held online. The 37th Foshan Ceramics Expo also experienced an postponement before being held from July 5 to 8.
Coincidentally, the 27th Shanghai Kitchen and Bathroom Exhibition 2022, originally scheduled to be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center from June 8-11, 2022, has also been decided to suspend this year after an postponement and will be rescheduled to June 7 next year. -Held on the 10th. According to statistics from Zhongtaojun, the only ceramic-related exhibitions successfully held this year are the 22nd Xiamen International Stone Exhibition, the 37th Foshan Ceramics Expo, 2022 Central China Architectural Ceramics Boutique Collection, 2022 China Construction Expo (Guangzhou), 2022 China Construction Expo (Shanghai), 2022 Shenzhen Fashion Home Design Week, the 18th Shenyang Faku International Ceramics Expo, and the upcoming event tomorrowThere are less than ten exhibitions including the 2022 China Jingdezhen International Ceramics Expo.
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However, in the next December, there will be another design industry event that attracts the attention of the whole industry - 2022 Guangzhou Design Week. The exhibition will be held at the "Guangzhou Poly World Trade Expo" from December 9th to 12th (four days). It was held in three halls: Guangzhou International Procurement Center + Nanfeng International Convention and Exhibition Center.
According to reports, the 2022 Guangzhou Design Week has the theme of "Love PASSION", and the exhibition direction is "Design + Material Selection of New Aesthetics of Contemporary Living Lifestyle". The exhibition scale reaches 180,000 square meters, bringing together more than 1,000 people from 20+ countries around the world. Brand companies and institutions in the fields of design/cultural creation/art/trend/smart/soft furnishing/materials/high-definition/lifestyle that are suitable for new forms of contemporary living aesthetics, and 40+ super curatorial projects jointly exhibited , during the same period, more than 150 themed activities covering "new business/cultural creativity/real estate/design/art/fashion/trendy/life aesthetics" will be held. In addition, the 2022 Guangzhou Design Week has further optimized and adjusted the layout of the exhibition area, and moved the exhibit categories and theme content more accurately - "High-end customization + material aesthetics look at poly; smart + soft decoration aesthetics look at national style; cultural creativity + trend Nan Fung Aesthetics" facilitates efficient matching and business interaction between exhibitors and visitors.
As the largest exhibition in the Asian design industry, Guangzhou Design Week has always been an important publicity position for many ceramic brands to strengthen communication and cooperation with designers and expand brand designer channels. Almost more than 30 ceramic brands participate in the exhibition every year. This year, there have been constant thunderstorms in real estate, and many ceramic brands have invariably reduced their engineering business. Therefore, they have placed high hopes on other channels such as dealers, home decoration, and designers. In terms of designer channels, Guangzhou Design Week is an important opportunity for these ceramic brands to strengthen their designer channels.
It is understood that there are more than 30 ceramic brands participating in the 2022 Guangzhou Design Week this year.Including Dongpeng, Eagle Brand, New Pearl, Oceano, Nobel, Jianyi, Mona Lisa, Shunhui, Jinduo, Hengfu, Matti, Jinsi Yuma, New Rock Element, Samit, Inno, Xinzhongyuan, Direction Home, etc. At present, Guangzhou Design Week has officially launched a series of publicity activities, but various ceramic brands have not yet taken any publicity actions.
At this time, an epidemic broke out in the area where the 2022 Guangzhou Design Week exhibition hall was held, and the entire area was under control.
On November 5, at the Guangzhou Municipal Epidemic Prevention and Control Press Conference, Zhang Yi, deputy director and spokesperson of the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission, said that Guangzhou is currently facing the most complex and severe epidemic in the three years of fighting the epidemic. During the epidemic, the main battlefield is located in Haizhu District. In recent days, the number of new infections in a single day in Haizhu District has continued to rise, and the number of new infections in the control area has continued to rise, which has brought great obstacles to the stable control of the epidemic in the city. It is understood that Guangzhou Haizhu District has implemented strict control over the entire area since November 4. From November 5 to 7, all buses and subways in the area will be suspended, and the flow of people will be strictly controlled. At present, the makeshift hospital at the Canton Fair Complex has been opened to treat COVID-19 patients. The Pazhou Fangcang Hospital was renovated using five exhibition halls of the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center. The center is located on Pazhou Island, Haizhu District, Guangzhou. Its construction was completed in April this year.
Picture source: Tuchong Creative
Statistical data shows that in order to meet the needs of epidemic prevention and control, as of November, more than 200 exhibitions in more than 40 cities across the country have officially announced their postponement. There is still one month left before the opening of Guangzhou Design Week 2022. It seems "a bit uncertain" whether the design exhibition that this ceramic brand has high hopes for can open as scheduled.
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For brands, the benefits of participating in exhibitions are nothing more than enabling investment, boosting marketing promotions, and establishing links with customers.
However, with the normalization of the epidemic, exhibitions are facing various uncertainties. Every exhibition, whether it is the organizer, exhibitors, or visitors, is cautious and walking on thin ice. The sudden epidemic in a certain place has led to the postponement or cancellation of the local exhibition. ,mostPeople have become accustomed to it. At the same time, exhibitions have also undergone great changes under the normalization of the epidemic. The most obvious is that the number of visitors/professional buyers has decreased significantly. For participating brands, exhibitions can empower investment, boost marketing and promotion, etc. The function will also be greatly weakened.
In the past, participating in offline exhibitions may have been the most important and most effective way for a brand to quickly attract investment and expand its popularity, but this may not be the case in the future. When investing huge sums of money fails to bring certainty, some brands may choose to give up or reduce their participation in offline exhibitions.
In the new situation where there are no offline exhibitions to empower brands, how can brands do a good job in attracting investment, marketing and promotion in the future? The most important method must be to switch to online new media promotion, make full use of new media channels and forms of expression such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat official accounts, communities, short videos, and live broadcasts to broaden the scope of brand promotion. In the future, corporate new media operations, leader IP creation, digital investment promotion, new media promotion and investment promotion, etc. will become new directions for ceramic brand innovation to break through.
